Georgia teen drivers get to bypass road test during pandemic

ATLANTA (AP) - By BEN NADLER— Thousands of teens in Georgia don’t have to take a road test to get their driver’s licenses during the coronavirus pandemic, under an executive order signed by the governor.

Teens between the ages of 16 and 18 who have had their learner’s permits for a year and a day with no violations can automatically get upgraded to driver’s licenses without having to take a road test, according to the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

The requirement for most road tests in the state was suspended under an executive order signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on April 23. Asked whether he feared the decision to automatically grant teens licenses could make roads less safe during a news conference Thursday, Kemp said the Department of Driver Services was working to adapt to a new norm, adding that he thought “we should have some resolution on that real soon.”

It was not immediately clear what type of resolution the Republican governor was referring to.

The order waives the requirement until Georgia’s state of emergency — so far extended through June 12 — is terminated. The department had stopped giving road exams in March, part of a wave of closures as the virus spread rapidly throughout the state and country.

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Reprinted courtesy of The Associated Press

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